Genesis 11:8 “So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of the whole earth; and they stopped building the city.”

Babel! What a story! The people had become to believe they could actually reach heaven. Pride! Conceit! Self-centeredness!

Don’t be so quick to judge. We are the same. We think we can go through life and only call on the Lord when we are in trouble or in need. We don’t see ourselves as needing the Lord in our everyday lives.

In America we have that belief that a man can pull himself up by his bootstraps. My dad had that mindset for 80 years of his life. It wasn’t until he was lying flat on his back following a heart procedure did he realize he couldn’t do it anymore. He couldn’t fix himself or my mom who had been suffering with Alzheimers and bone cancer for years. He finally stopped pulling his own bootstraps and let the Lord in.

Let your children put on a pair of your boots. It doesn’t matter what kind – hiking, cowboy, snow. Once they are on their feet, tell them to reach down and grab the top of each boot and pick themselves up off the floor. They will learn very quickly that it is not possible. Now, you put them on and try the same. They need to see that no one can do that.

Now apply the verse. How about you? Are you striving to handle your life? How is that working for you? Let God have control. He is much more skilled in the area.

Matthew 4:1 “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.”

It is always curious to me that the third person of the Trinity led Jesus, the second person of the Trinity, into the wilderness TO BE TEMPTED BY THE DEVIL. Why would he do that? For what purpose? Did Jesus need testing? I don’t think so.

God needed to show the devil that he had NO POWER over Jesus. Jesus was God and had always been God. No evil temptation was going to lure Him to sin against His Heavenly Father.

That same Spirit lives in us today as believers. When you face temptation remember that the devil has NO POWER over you either. That Spirit is in your spirit to empower you to have victory over the devil. Isn’t that amazing? Isn’t that glorious?

The next time your family are in the middle of a power outage use this verse to teach your children. Just like the house has now power unless the electricity is on, the devil has no power unless the Lord gives it to him. He is powerless to influence them. And he can only tempt them with the limited power and presence God gives him. How frustrating for him, but how great for us!

Genesis 3:9 “Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” And he said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”

How many times have you said this? We don’t want to be responsible for someone else, do we? We misuse this verse though and don’t really understand the context when we say that.

Cain had just killed his brother. God knew that. He knew where Abel was. He was simply trying to get Cain to admit his sin. But, just like us, he denied any wrongdoing. Aren’t we just like that? Don’t we deny our faults when confronted?

But this verse has deeper meaning also. We, as believers, are our brother’s keeper. We have a responsibility to watch after our fellow believers. We have a responsibility to help them when they need it. We have a command to be like Jesus to a lost and dying world.

Our children have to be taught to “watch out” for others, especially their siblings. We are not raising children, we are raising “child raisers.” Learning how to care for others will prepare them for Parenthood. Give them responsibility without all the pressure. They are parenting someone, but learning how to care for others.

Won’t you look around you today and see who you can be your “brother’s keeper” to? I promise if you look, He will provide someone.

Genesis. 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

This verse may seem like a simple little verse with absolutely no meaning except that God did something. Oh, it is so much more.

Do you understand that this verse and the verses that follow establish Who God is and what He has done and will continue to do? Belief in this verse is the bedrock of our faith in His Word. If we can’t believe that God literally made the earth in six days and then rested, why should we believe anything else that is written in this book?

We need to teach our children that the God they pray to and worship on Sundays is the same God who created everything there is. There is no “Big Bang” or “slimy ooze” from which we all came. They have to learn to trust the God of Creation, not just the God of Sunday School.

Do not believe the lies of the world. Cast all your doubts out the window. Believe what He says! He loves you and has made you in His image. Hallelujah!